The Biden administration sought reassurance Thursday after a chemical-laden train derailed in an Ohio town whose residents, increasingly concerned about their health, are demanding an explanation.
• Also read: In the United States, the alarm was lifted after a train carrying chemical products derailed
• Also read: Derailment of a train with chemical products: concern rumbles in the population
“I want people to know that they don’t have to deal with this case alone (…). We will be there to help,” said United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Michael Regan, who was visiting the site in eastern Palestine in the northeast of the country.
Mr Regan said that after examining more than 480 homes, no traces of vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride were found and the water was tested and retested “to ensure these communities are protected”.
“We will bring light into the darkness,” assured President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman, Karine Jean-Pierre, in Washington. And “we will hold Norfolk Southern,” the rail company that operates the train, accountable, she added.
On February 3, the derailment caused a huge fire and the evacuation of several hundred people. Among other things, the train carried vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic and highly flammable chemical used in the manufacture of plastics.
Railroad authorities then moved to “controlled” releases of vinyl chloride “to avoid a possible explosion,” according to the Ohio governor’s office, releasing toxic fumes into the air.
Since then, the case has continued to gain steam as local residents have expressed their concern.
Some have reported to the media that they have had various symptoms, including headaches, and said they feared they would develop cancer in a few years. Around 3,500 fish also died in the surrounding waters, according to the local natural resources agency.
Based on testing, authorities said the air was “safe” and analyzes of the city’s system water had found no pollutants.
However, they advise people who use water from private wells to have it tested and continue to drink bottled water while they wait for the results.
Residents, who have been allowed to return to their homes, are showing their suspicions.
One told local broadcaster WKYC that residents were “suspicious, paranoid and concerned.” Another shared her “fear”.
“I fear for my family, I fear for my city,” Kelly Felger told CNN.